We shall strive more particularly here below in this document to describe the problems and issues existing in the field of electronic payment terminals that have been faced by the inventors of the present patent application. The invention is of course not limited to this particular field of application but is of interest for all electronic terminals that have to cope with proximate or similar problems and issues.
There are known supports in the prior art such as mounting feet or masts to which electronic payment terminals are fixed. This type of device is often found in cash registers in stores.
Electronic payment terminals are fixedly attached to these supports by means of a system of screws that prevent the electronic payment terminal from getting loosened from the support and falling.
For reasons of security, it is preferable for the electronic payment terminals to be detached from their support and placed in a secured box when they are not in use, for example outside store opening times.
Thus, before a merchant opens his business establishment, he must fixedly attach each of the electronic payment terminals of his fleet to its respective support by means of a conventional tool (a screwdriver). Then, when he closes his business establishment, the merchant must detach the electronic payment terminals from their supports and place them in the secured box.
According to this prior-art technique, to carry out the payment operation, the merchant enters the amount of the transaction in the electronic payment terminal and then makes this terminal pivot towards the customer by rotating the support so that he can carry out the transaction in full confidentiality (by inserting his card and then entering his PIN code).
One drawback of this prior-art technique lies in the fact that the operations for fixedly attaching and detaching electronic payment terminals to and from their supports, which can be carried out several times a day, are time-consuming for the person who performs them.
In addition, the need to use to a tool, although it is a conventional one, complicates the installation and separation of the terminals and therefore also affects the time needed for performing these operations.
In other words, there is currently no simple and rapid system for fixedly attaching and detaching an electronic payment terminal to and from its support.